Absorbent material and fiber-stock therefor.



PATENTED JAN. 16, 1906.

R. GREEN. ABSORBENT MATERIAL AND FIBER STOCK THEREFOR.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 25, 1904.

UNITED sTArp s WILLARD R. GREEN, OF MUSCATINE, IOWA.

ABSORBENT MATERIAL AND FIBER-STOCK THEREFOR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 16, 1906.

A plication filed July 25, 1504. Serial No. 217,972.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, WILLARD R. GREEN, a citizen of the United States, residing in Muscatine, in the county of Muscatine and State of Iowa, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Absorbent Material and Fiber-Stock Therefor, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to and has for an object the provision of an improved absorbent material for hygienic and surgical purposes.

In the drawings accompanying and forming a part of this specification, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a portion of absorbent material employing the stock of my present improvements. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a roll of such material made up ready for use. Fig. 3 is a View illustrating a manner of commingling the fiber-stock with strands of different characteristics. Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a portion of a machine which may be employed in carrying out the process of manufacture of the fiber-stock. Figs. 5 and 6 are details of a piece of material for the manufacture of the fiber-stock, illustrating its feed movement through a cutter, which may be a machine substantially as shown in Fig. 4; and Fig. 7 is an enlarged detail illustrating said process and the feed movement.

Fig. 1 shows a mass 8 of fiber-stock consist ing of sheet material in finely-divided portions 11, and each such portion may in practice individually constitute an absorbent mass, and when the fiber-stock is to be used as an absorbent it will generally be made of a fibrous paper-stock of absorbent character. In the present improvement the fiber stock is comprised of pieces of paper commingled with strands. The paper may be more or less finely comminuted. Each piece of paper in itself constitutes an absorbent mass, and by properly dividing the stock of paper into bodiesas, for instance, cutting the stockthe interspaces and fibrous or cellular structure of each of the bodies may be opened up to render that individual mass capable of rapidly receiving to its maximum capacity the matter for absorption. If'the paper is well out and given other than a flat formation, the various bodies or masses will not upon agitation settle down into a solid heavy mass, but will retain a'loose formation even though compressed to some degree.

The paper may be cut or torn and bent into some formation which will prevent comperly-treated grasses.

pacting, or the paper may be sheared off into chips having a formation which will prevent such compacting. If the chips are sheared from a sheet, the shearing action will have a tendency to twist the chips and give a mass of such chips the desired consistency of capillary passages and interspaces. The chips may be of curved formation and may have the ends coming substantially to points and the center enlarged and may have somewhat of an ogee formation. Certain qualities of paper are peculiarly adapted for the manufacture of this fiber-stock, and such papers may be employed in sheet form and divided up by properly cutting, whereby the fibers or cellular structure of the paper will be developed and exposed by the cutting, so that a quantity of such clippings will readily present faces adapted to rapidly absorb whatever material for absorption may be pre sentcd to such body or mass.

Excelsior is an absorbent by itself and when properly compacted and arranged will owing to the capillary formation produced by one strand lying upon another add to the absorptive capacity of a given mass of excelsior, and also owing to its peculiar characteristics there will not only be capillary spaces, but there will be spaces serving in the nature of reservoirs. The wood not only acts as an absorbent and when used with the fiber-stock hereinabove described serves to form a framework for supporting the mass of such fiber-stock and prevents the same from collapsing upon its absorption of moisture. The paper when properly subdivided and arranged will form an absorptive body. The various portions of the paper constituting minor absorptive masses arranged and lying together will act somewhat as does the eXoelsior in the formation of capillary-attraction spaces and also admit of the interspace or receptacle feature.

The mass of fiber-stock may be supported and-its receptive and absorptive capacity augmented by having mingled with it certain absorptive strandsas, for instance, strands of Wood or in some instances pro- The mass of bodies of paper, if paper is employed, will become more highly absorptive by a certain amount of compression, whereby there will be capillary attraction or capillary action throughout the entire mass together with interspaces for receptive purposes, and if the strands of wood are in the nature of excelsior or other narrow shavings of wood the compacting of the mass of excelsior will add to its powers of absorption. The wood will act as a framework for the paper to revent its collapse upon the absorption moisture and will sustain. it after it has arrived at saturation, whereby a natural tendency to shrinkage or collapse will be prevented, thus preventing the mass from ejecting or exuding the liquids and semiliquids which it has absorbed. The wood strands will also prevent undue compression of the mass beyond the compression necessary for its ready and rapid absorption. The mass after having been brought to the desired predetermined state of compression will, owing to the presence of the strands of wood, maintain its form and be prevented from the deterioration of its absorptive qualities due to pressures of handling, transportation, and application to use. Fig. 3 shows the fiber-stock and frameworl -strands mingled tov form a composite mass. The framework-strands and the fiber-stock ortions 11 are so intermixed that receptac e-spaces 12 are provided to receive the matter for absorption and sup ply the 7 same to the various absorptive bodies, and to retain the surplus or such portions as are not readily capable of being absorbed.

The process for the production of the fiberstock may be carried on with the apparatus illustrated in Fig. 4, which apparatus embodies a bed-plate, (designated in a general way by 15,) having a die 16 at its front end, which die is provided with a sinuous shear edge 17. The cutter-head (designated by 18) 'ing to the feed. Fi s.

is shown as mounted in ways 19 and actuated by a link 20. The cutter-head carries a sinuous shear-blade 21, mating with the die and which shear-blade will upon its proper reciprocation shear the 5 and 6 illustrate the manner of feeding t e paper in carrying out the process, such feeding producing a number of fine chips of aper at each descent of the knife or shear b ade. The full-line positlon in Fig. 5'represents the paper and the dotted-line tion from w ich it has been moved upon a sidewise and a forward feed. The sheet will be moved from side to side and forward at each sidewise movement, whereby the paper will alternately assume the full-line positions, as shown at 25 in Fig. 5 and 27 in Fig. 6, the dotted-line positions 26 and 28 showing where the paper theretofore rested and the spaces 29 indicatin the general outline of the chips 11, which will be cut off. The space between the dotted lines 30 and 31 in Fi 5 and the dotted lines 32 and 33 in Fig. 6 i lustrate the forward feed in the direction of the arrows. The spaces 34 and 35 indicate the side-feed movement. In Fig. 7, which shows an enlarged detail of the clippaper ofi accordosition 26 illustrates the posi-- pings 11, it will be seen these clippings in the present illustration are generally of an ogee formation, larger in the center and tapermg toward the ends. This will give a mass of chips which will not pack together, but will remain loose and present interspaces to perform the desired absorption and retention.

The cutting of the paper in this manner will also open up all the grain of the paper to perinit ready absorption by each individual chip. Of course it will be apparent that in practice several sheets of paper may be piled up one upon the other, so that a large number of chips will be thrown off at each shearing action. It will also be apparent that the width of the chips may be regulated by regulating the feed of the sheet through. the forward feed or the sidewise feed, or both, thus admittin of a large range of chip forms which wil adapt them for various employments. The absorbent may be variously put up for use to meet the requirements of the trade and of such use and may in some instances be made in long flat strips and formed into a roll, as 36.

By the term fiber-stock, as used herein, it is intended to mean a material composed of fibers, so that when this stock is divided into clippings each such clipping will be of a fibrous nature and be'made up of a compara- 5 fibers, but cut into clippings formed of a com- I paratively large number of fibers.

The absorbent material herein shown and described is for by ienic'and surgical pur posesin the form 0% bandages or'otherwise, and the term surgical purposes in the claims is intended to cover such uses.

Having thus described my invention, I claim 1. An absorbent materialfor surgical purposes comprisedof a mass of relatively fine, bent or curved, fibrous-pa er clippings;

2. An absorbent materia for surgical purposes comprising a mass made up of woody strands intermingled with fibrous-paper fragments or clippings.

3. An absorbent material for surgical urposes comprised of a mass of-mixed exce sior and bent orcurved fibrous-paper clippings cut from a' sheet of material. p

4. An absorbent for surgical purposes comprisin a body of minute masses of fibrous material each having reversed curved faces to open up to the outside of the interspaces in such mass, mingled with a frameworkforming absorbent.

Signed at Nos. 9 to 15 Murray street, New

York, N. Y., this 27th day of June, 1904 WILLARD R. GREEN.

Witnesses:

FRANCIS H. RICHARDS, FRED. J. DOLE. 

